


O is for Obvious

by sodun



Series: Rarl A to Z [12]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Closeted Characters, Kissing and cuddling, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 20:21:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8547826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sodun/pseuds/sodun
Summary: Carl and Ron are not as secretive as they thought.





	

**Author's Note:**

> we're on easy street
> 
> is this really part 15 that seems fake/26 of the Rarl A to Z series.

Carl and Ron always thought they were great at keeping their relationship hidden.

The two were kind of afraid of how Rick would react. Okay, scratch that; they were _very_ afraid of how Rick would react. Carl figured Rick wouldn't want his son dating anybody, boy or girl, but he also wasn't sure how Rick would feel about Ron being a boy. Sure, Rick never seemed to have a problem with Aaron and Eric or Tara and Denise, but things are always different when it comes to your child. So Carl and Ron decided they should keep it quiet for the first little while.

Or try to, at least.

It started with Sasha. Carl and Ron decided to keep her company in the guard tower one night. They chatted, played card games, nothing out of the ordinary. Ron had to leave before Carl, as Jessie gave him a curfew but Rick never gave Carl one. 

As Ron left, he took a moment to place a hand on Carl's shoulder and gently squeeze, smiling down at him. Carl looked up to meet Ron's eyes and smiled back. He wanted to stand up and kiss Ron goodnight, or at least hug him, but Carl knew he probably shouldn't.

After Ron was gone, Carl turned back to Sasha to see her smiling at him, an eyebrow raised. "Huh. I always had a suspicion but I didn't think dating was your thing yet."

"What?" Carl asked, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks as he held eye contact with her.

Sasha shrugged, placing her cards face-down on the table. "You and Ron. I see the way you look at each other. We all do."

Carl furrowed his eyebrows, leaning forward. "You _all_ see it?" 

"So there is something to see?"

Carl groaned, covering his blushing face with his hands. "Okay, fine. Ron's my boyfriend."

"Cute," Sasha said, smiling softly at the boy in front of him, "you're good for each other."

"You don't, like, have a.. problem with us both being boys?" Asked Carl shyly, dropping his hands back to the table as he picked at the skin around his nails.

Sasha frowned, placing a hand on top of Carl's. "Of course not. Nobody will. People have bigger issues than two boys loving each other. You two aren't hurting anyone, anyways. Nobody's gonna be offended by it."

"Even.. Even my dad?"

"Even your dad," Sasha assured Carl, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

That was all Sasha had to say about it. They returned to their card games and she never brought it up again.

The next person to find out was Abraham. 

Abraham had just returned from a run and came back home to shower. He'd passed various members of his family on his way to the house, so he was under the impression that nobody was home. After kicking off his boots, he climbed the stairs and set off down the hall towards the bathroom. 

As he made his way down the hall, Abraham began to hear faint chatter coming from Carl's bedroom. He shrugged it off, not all that concerned with what Carl was up to. However, the door to the boy's room was open, and as he walked past he couldn't help but peek inside. 

What Abraham saw was Carl and Ron, cuddled up together in the bed. Ron had an arm around Carl's shoulders, holding him close as Carl curled up against his side. The two were talking quietly about something, until Carl leaned up to press his lips against the older boys.

"Shit," Abraham whispered, slowly turning around and heading back downstairs.

He wandered around Alexandria until he found Rosita in the armoury. "Baby, you will never believe what I just saw." 

From there, it went a little something like this: Rosita told Tara, Tara told Denise, Denise told Daryl, Daryl told Carol, Carol told Olivia, Olivia accidentally told Deana, Deana told Spencer, Spencer told Aaron, Aaron told Eric, Eric told Maggie, and Maggie told Glenn. 

Michonne found out next. Carl and Michonne were sitting on the porch one evening, talking about whatever came to mind as they often did. Carl accidentally let it slip that he and Ron spent all of the previous day cuddling and kissing. When talking to Michonne, Carl often said things he wouldn't tell other adults.

"Sorry, can you repeat that for me?" Michonne asked, looking at Carl incredulously.

"I, uh- um.. I didn't mean to uh, to say that." Carl stuttered, blushing brightly.

"Well, you said it!"

"I know.. Uh. Ron's my boyfriend." He said quietly, biting his lip.

"And you never told me? Your best friend?" Michonne pouted, nudging Carl with her elbow.

"Sorry? I just.. Well, I don't want my dad to know." Carl sighed.

"Why's that?"

"I don't think he'd want me dating anybody, and.. I'm worried about what he'll think of me because Ron's, you know, a boy." Carl confessed, shrugging gently.

"He won't think of you any differently, Carl," Michonne said, frowning slightly, "He loves you, no matter who you love."

"Yeah, I guess.." 

"If I were you, I'd tell him soon. I heard Daryl and Carol talking about you guys this morning. If they know, it won't be long before your dad does." Michonne told Carl, ruffling his hair before heading into the house.

"Wait, how did they know?" Carl called after her, eyes wide.

"Daryl heard it from Denise," Michonne said, shrugging before going inside.

"Denise?" Carl repeated, running a hand through his hair.

Carl heard the front door open slowly. He glanced over at the door and, _of course_ , there stood Rick.

"Hey, Michonne sent me out here. Said you wanted to talk?" Rick said, sitting down next to Carl on the bench.

"I guess so," Carl sighed, smiling weakly at his dad.

"Are you alright?" Rick asked, concern clear in his voice.

Carl shrugged, playing with his hands. "Maybe. I need to tell you something and I don't know how you'll feel about it."

"Well, only one way to find out," Rick said hesitantly.

"Dad, I.. I have a boyfriend. Ron. Me and Ron are dating." Carl said quietly, not looking up to see Rick's reaction.

"I know."

Carl looked up at his dad with wide eyes. "You know?"

"Sure. I've known for a while now. You've been pretty obvious." Rick said, smiling at his son.

"We have? What?" 

Rick shrugged gently. "Yeah. Ron always stares at you like he's never seen anything so beautiful before, and you look at him like he hung the sun or somethin'. You always sit close together too, even if the couch was empty you'd sit with your shoulders touchin'. Your hugs and other touches always lasted too long to just be friendly. And, the walls in this house ain't soundproof. Closing your door doesn't stop me from hearing what you two say."

"Oh," Carl whispered, shocked that his dad noticed all of this, "Okay. You uh, you don't have a problem with it? You know, with me being.. not straight and all."

"Course not. You're my son. Nothing'll ever change that. You're still the same Carl you've always been," Rick said reassuringly, pulling Carl into a side hug, "I love you, no matter who you're interested in."

"Thank you, dad," Carl breathed, closing his eyes and nestling against Rick's side.

"Nothin' to thank me for, Carl," Rick chuckled, patting his son's shoulder. "I'm pretty sure everyone's figured it out by now, so you can stop trying to sneak around."

"I thought we hid it well," Carl mumbled.

"Not even close," Rick laughed, standing up and heading inside, "not even close."

**Author's Note:**

> i struggled with this one a little forgive me/the end sucks


End file.
